9 minute read
Miffy’s 20 years in China ..........................................................................50
接下来：米菲登陆 中国 20 周年！
米菲“生于”1955 年，是迪克·布
还有更多的联合品牌合作伙伴，
例如时尚品牌：Chocoolate、堡
狮龙和衣恋。还与电子电器品牌
Aux and Fagor 和数码配件品牌 Mipow 合作。
在展望 2023 年中国兔年时，米 菲无疑会更加活跃，势如破竹。
作为一个充满正能量的品牌，米 菲将继续为每一个中国人和世 界人民散播欢乐和力量！
快来认识可爱的米菲兔吧！
China’s Theme Park Revolution
Beijing Universal Studios, which has been in development for 20 years, recently began trial operations, detonating the entire domestic cultural tourism consumer market. As the first Universal Studios theme park in China, the third in Asia, and the fifth in the world, as early as August 20, when Universal Studios Beijing first opened the closed testing for employees, some of the testing tickets were offered by touts at nearly 8,000 yuan. On September 1st, Beijing Universal Studios officially started its trial operation. The experience videos, play guides and celebrity encounter moments released all over major social platforms, and further ignited consumers’ interest in Beijing Universal. Many domestic consumers still vividly remember the hot scene when Shanghai Disneyland opened. Prior to this, the official opening of Shanghai Disney in 2016 was also regarded as a watershed in the development of the industry, which also brought the development of domestic theme parks. As a first-tier city, Beijing still lacks a “theme park” despite having Happy Valley and other projects. Now, it has made up for this. At the same time, following Universal Studios Beijing, plans for international theme parks such as DreamWorks and Legoland to land in the country have also accelerated. The Shenzhen Legoland theme park will open as soon as 2024. In the face of increasingly fierce competition in the industry, how will domestic theme parks break the situation?
Development Path
A theme park is a modern tourist destination that integrates many entertainment activities, leisure elements and service and reception facilities according to a specific theme or content. With the rapid development of the country’s economy in recent years, the theme park industry has also ushered in a momentum of vigorous development. From the perspective of regional distribution, the current large-scale theme parks are mainly concentrated in the Pearl River Delta with Guangzhou and Shenzhen as the core, the Yangtze River Delta and the Bohai Rim with Shanghai and Suzhou as the core, as well as the new firsttier cities in the central and western regions such as Changsha, Wuhan, and Chengdu. This distribution is basically consistent with the level of regional economic development in China and the structure of the domestic tourism market. The development of theme parks in my China has mainly experienced four stages. The first-generation theme parks are mainly based on amusement parks, gardens, and film and television drama filming bases; the second-generation theme parks are mainly miniature landscapes, and film and television cities are supplemented by performances; the third-generation theme parks nurture modern theme culture; the fourth-generation theme parks build the whole industry chain + new technology + big IP.
Development drivers High population density + tourism development
High population density and rapid development of the tourism industry constitute the foundation of demand for theme parks in China. The world famous theme parks are mostly concentrated in areas with high population density + high GDP. The world’s TOP25 theme parks are concentrated in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul and other places, all of which have high population density and per capita GDP.
Upgrading of consumer demand
As the per capita GDP continues to rise, the domestic leisure and vacation tourism market continues to expand, reaching about 600 billion yuan
in 2016, and its proportion in tourism consumption continues to increase. The consumption level of residents is constantly improving, and the concept of tourism consumption is constantly changing and upgrading. In addition to meeting daily expenses, residents’ demand for culture and entertainment is increasing, and their willingness to consume has increased significantly. The number of Chinese theme park companies has gradually increased, and internationally renowned theme parks have entered the Chinese market. Local famous theme parks have also cultivated IP culture with Chinese characteristics, awakening the enthusiasm of Chinese theme park experience consumption.
The rapid growth of IP culture
IP culture is the core of theme parks, an effective way to expand brand influence, improve brand recognition, and enhance sustainable competitiveness. In recent years, the rapid development of the IP industry at home and abroad has promoted the rapid development of the theme park industry. The theme park acquires IP by cultivating independent IP, obtaining IP authorization, and cooperating to create IP to deepen public awareness.
Policy assistance
In 2012, the government issued the “Several Opinions on Regulating the Development of Theme Parks” to further strengthen supervision, clarify the scope and types of theme parks, and further standardize the development of the theme park industry. In 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the “Guiding Opinions on Standardizing the Construction and Development of Theme Parks”, which gave the direction of the transformation and upgrading of theme parks from three aspects: enriching cultural connotation, improving scientific and technological content, and expanding market entities. China’s theme park industry has entered a growth trend Golden age. In 2018, China’s theme park industry market retail sales exceeded 40 billion yuan. Different from Disney’s fairy tale world full of dreams and cartoon fantasy, Universal Studios is committed to creating a real scene experience + playground project model. NBC Universal’s business, which Universal Studios belongs to, is divided into four parts, namely cable network, radio and television, movie entertainment and theme parks. The theme park business mainly includes Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Orlando, Universal Studios Osaka, Japan, Universal Studios Sentosa, Singapore, and the newly opened Universal Resort Beijing.
Financial status
Revenue: In fiscal year 2019, Universal Studios’theme parks achieved revenues of US $593 million (+4.4%), accounting for 17.25% of NBC Universal’s revenue. Tourist consumption includes ticket sales, food, beverages and other commodity consumption provided by the park. Parks were temporarily closed due to the epidemic in 2020. Universal Studios Osaka was closed from late February. Universal Studios Orlando and Hollywood were closed from mid-March. Orlando and Osaka theme parks allowed a certain number of visitors to enter the park from June. As a result, revenue has declined in 2020. Profitability: Theme park costs mainly include park operations, including maintenance and related management costs, food, beverage and commodity costs, labor costs, and sales and marketing costs. In 2020, operating
costs will fall due to park closures and lower marketing-related costs. The ROE of Universal Studios has basically remained at 15% 6% since 2014, and the highest reached 33% in 2017; ROA has stabilized at 4% -5%, and in 2017 it reached 12.15% due to the increase in net profit. ROE is basically similar to Disney, and ROA lags behind Disney.
Operating model
At present, there are 5 theme parks in Universal Studios, all of which are wholly-owned and independently operated, joint ventures with other companies, and authorized to third parties to use IP operations. Among them, NBC Universal is wholly-owned and independently operated by two companies: Orlando, Florida, and Hollywood, California. Joint ventures with other companies and two Universal Holdings: Osaka Universal Studios, Japan, jointly owned by NBC Universal and Japan’s USJ Company, Universal Holdings 51%; the fifth theme park built in Beijing, with NBC Universal holding 30% and more State-owned enterprises affiliated to Beijing Municipality jointly funded the establishment. The resort World Sentosa, Singapore is wholly-owned by Genting, and Universal Studios is only authorized. The authorized operation of Universal Studios Mediterranean in Spain has not yet been approved and was be included in the scope of the study.
IP mode
Disneyland and Universal Studios have different strategies in terms of IP entertainment projects. All the projects in Disneyland are based on their own IP, and the amusement projects, attractions, and products in the Universal Studios theme park are more obtained through third-party IP authorization or joint development and cooperation with third parties.
Universal Beijing Resort
Universal Beijing Resort is a theme park tourist destination complex. After completion, it will be the world’s largest Universal Studios theme park. The first phase covers an area of 159.57 hectares, including Universal Studios Hollywood theme park, Beijing Universal City Avenue and two resort hotels. The Universal Studios Park includes 7 themed scenic spots, 37 rides and entertainment facilities and landmark attractions, and 24 performances. The Universal City Boulevard is a comprehensive commercial complex integrating retail, catering and entertainment, including 80 themed catering stores and 30 retail stores selling specialty goods. Two resort hotels are the world’s first Universal Studios hotels named after the Universal brand, and the first resort hotel under the NUO brand of BTG. The hotels provide a total of 1,200 rooms. The annual number of tourists in the first phase is expected to be 12 million to 15 million. The second phase covers an area of 165.83 hectares. It is planned to build a theme park with Chinese elements and introduce IP such as Chinese culture and Monkey King. The third phase plans to build a water park.
Spillover Effect
Theme parks can have a large spillover effect. Tourism and vacation complexes with IP such as Beijing Universal Studios can produce effects that are 10-15 times that of ordinary scenic spots. From the perspective of economic benefits, the completion of Beijing Universal Studios is expected to increase employment and tourism income in Beijing, increase the proportion of tourism in GDP, and have a boosting effect on related industries. From the perspective of social benefits, the completion of Beijing Universal Studios is expected to bring different levels of driving effects to the surrounding areas of the resort, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and China’s tourism development and urban transformation and upgrading, providing citizens with a new space for tourism, vacation and leisure. The construction of a harmonious society in China will promote government management, service innovation and technological innovation.
